To The Editor:
Thank you Pharaoh Christie! Not since the days of Moses has a leader so arrogantly refused to listen to reason. In Pharaoh’s anger, he demanded the Israelites to make more bricks with fewer materials; then penalized them for not meeting the increased quota. Your administration is doing the same.

By using a saber to poke holes in the state’s inflated budget, you are cursing the very people who make this state great (police, firefighters, teachers, and other state employees). As a tactic to gain public support, blame is cast upon us for the current crisis and false claims are made that we will retire as “millionaires.” In your effort to correct decades of government neglect, you are using the wrong weapon.

A double-edged sword is required. The current pension crisis is due to years of thievery from our own state government. State employees have always contributed their fair share. Poking holes in the inflated budget - though necessary - is ignoring bubble’s origin.

Property taxes have ballooned, largely a result of education costs - that is true. However, it is not teachers’ salaries that are the root cause; it is legislation requiring increased services that is to blame. The ONLY long-term solution is to slash the budget AND enact legislative reform.